Wild Dogs

The e-mail below, from the Endangered Wildlife Trust, was forwarded via the Waterberg Nature Conservancy. It has been re-produced as we have had, from time to time, packs of wild dogs visiting the farm for a few days.

From: Deon Cilliers [mailto:deonc@ewt.org.za]  

Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 1:28 PM 

To: deonc@ewt.org.za 

Subject: Wild Dogs in the Waterberg 

Hi guys. Just a quick report back on the wild dogs in the Waterberg.

I received very good updates from all of you and others in the Waterberg just after my last request for any pictures taken of the wild dogs that were seen in the Waterberg. I mapped all these sightings and could clearly identify 3 packs of wild dogs which were roaming over the Waterberg area.

A possible den was recently found by one of the landowners close to Marken, but due to logistics with a collar, veterinarian and capture operation, this pack has now moved off and we do not know where they are now. This seemed to be remnants of the larger of the 3 packs in the Waterberg. We suspect that a portion of this pack dispersed just before the denning season,as a small pack of dogs were reported between Vaalwater and Nylstroom, and then also close to Roedtan on the Sprinbuckflats.

It seems as if the other two packs literally disappeared during the past three months.... possible having dens on farms where no permanent people stay...... 

 During the past three weeks, small packs of wild dogs have been reported to the west of Vaalwater, but these sightings were of two or three wild dogs.

We at the EWT continue to be concerned over these wild dogs but the reality is that mass capture operations and relocations to other areas are simply not possible....... due to the non-existence of new relocation areas in SA.

These wild dogs are doing extremely well in the Waterberg, without any human management and although some people are apparently shooting some of these wild dogs, they continue to survive and should be seen as a huge asset to the Waterberg Biosphere and to wild dog conservation in general.

I am once again requesting all of you as well as other Waterberg landowners and managers to continue reporting the wild dogs to me and to send photos if you manage to snap the dogs. All this continues to assist us to gain a better understanding of the wild dogs in the Waterberg.

We have two collars on stand-by should the opportunity arise for us to actually get our hands on one of the wild dogs and to collar it. The EWT is also planning to initiate a project focused on the management of these wild dogs in the Waterberg, but as NGO, we can only do this once we have secured long term funding.

Looking forward to continued reports and cooperation.

Kind regards

Deon Cilliers

Endangered Wildlife Trust

Senior Field Officer

Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Program

e mail deonc@ewt.org.za